Registration Day

Today the adoption became official!!  They wait 24 hours after you receive your child before making it official so that parents have time to spend with their child to make sure they want to keep him/her.  Yeh right!  Not even a question for us (and I'm sure most adoptive parents).

So, we went back to the registration office to receive our official documentation.  This was the same office we were at the day before...the same office where our children's lives changed forever...the same office where these scared little babies were just dropped off into arms.  No thought is put into how this might affect the child and even re-traumatize them.  I know some of them thought they were being dropped off again to someone else.  A couple of them started crying when we entered the building...heartbreaking : (  We made a special effort to go to a different area of the big room than Piper had been in before...the play area!  Thank God she did great and even spent some time bonding (playing and laughing) with daddy:

The presentation of our legal document:

She's ours : )))))))

Gotcha Day

What an amazing day!  We went down to breakfast this morning and you could just feel the excitement from all of the families.  I would go from moments of smiling to moments of tearing up just thinking of seeing Piper Jia Yu after a year and half wait.

Here are some of the families going into the registration office, the place where we would receive our children:

Another picture of 2 happy couples, anxiously awaiting their daughters' arrivals:

She's here!!!!!!!!  She was the first in our group to arrive and I was talking and didn't even see her come in.  Then I heard Dennis exclaim "Jia Yu!"

She didn't want to come to me at first, so I bribed her with a cookie:

You can see the scared look in her eyes.  My heart aches for what she is going through right now:

But just a couple of hours later...we got our first smile (and they've been plentiful ever since):

Day 2

We arrived in Zhengzhou today and it's kind of surreal to be back.  When at home, our time spent here seemed like a distant memory but now that we're back, all of those memories came flooding back.  We're not in the 'hood this time but staying at the Crowne Plaza so that part is a bit different.  We are grouped with 13 other families and they are all wonderful.  It's so amazing to hear about each one's journey and how God has hand picked each of our children for our families. 

Tonight we were thrilled to have dinner with Clay, Pam and Xiao Qing.  Because of them, we met, fostered, fell in-love with, and are now adopting Piper!!  They are an amazing family that run Swallows Nest Children's Home:  http://www.swallowsnestzz.org/  If you are looking for a place to make a charitable contribution to, please consider them.  They are saving parentless children's lives every day!  We also dined with another adoptive mother, adopting from Swallows Nest and Clay and Pam's friend, Rhonda.

Tomorrow is "Gotcha Day".  So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 1

We are on our way today!!  We decided to drive to Chicago and leave from there (it was a $1000 cheaper than flying out of Grand Rapids).  We got there in plenty of time and they gave us better seats than we originally had so it turned out to be a good flight (if 12 hours in the air can be good).  We arrived in Beijing a little late but there was a driver waiting for us.  We got to bed at 2:00am (2:00pm US time) and had to get up early to catch a flight to Zhengzhou.  It wasn't too hard to get up since we were so excited to get to our daughter's province!!

It's Finally Happening!!

The time is finally upon us!  We are leaving July 8th to be reunited with our daughter.  October 31, 2009...I remember that day so well.  It was the last day we spent with Piper.  I spent the whole day holding her...letting go only to let Emily, Dennis and Benji get a few hugs in.  Lots of tears were shed and such uncertainty filled us after she left.  We sent a letter with her, along with a bracelet, pictures of our time together, and Emily's baby blanket that she selflessly gave Piper.  At that moment we honestly didn't know if we would be given the honor of parenting her but wanted her to have some memories of our time together, no matter where life took her. 

We are so thankful that God chose us!!!   What a looooong journey but Piper Jia Yu, you are so worth the wait my beautiful girl!  We are so glad that God kept you safe and healthy and in the loving care of the Swallows Nest nannies while we were apart.  We will see you soon!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Dearest Birth Mothers,

If it were not for you, I would not have the pleasure of celebrating Mother's Day with Benji and soon, Piper.  I cannot describe the feelings of love and gratitude I have for your selfless gift of love.  I pray this day finds you at peace with your decision and God gives you a sense that your babies are doing wonderfully and are an absolute blessing to so many in their lives.  Happy Mother's Day birth mothers!  May you remember the day your babies were born, the sweet smell of their skin and the warmth of their snugly little bodies.  We love you and pray for you daily.

Thank you Vanderbilt

God wants this little girl home with us!  We were blessed again unexpectedly by a donation to our adoption fund.  The staff at Emily and Benji's school, Vanderbilt Charter Academy, http://vanderbilt.heritageacademies.com/, pay money to wear jeans on Fridays and then donate the money to a charity.  Well, this time we were the recipients!  This school has been a blessing to us in so many ways!  Thank you Vanderbilt Charter Academy!!!